What if?
by Hydrakillah
Summary: What if the world of pokemon was real. What if we had the technology to make it so. The story of a true live tranier and the new world that opens up to him.
1. The Beginning

What if?

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or the Pokedex for that matter, nor pokeballs, nor the names of Pokemon nor… you get the idea. Also, I don't own CNN or any news channels. I do own my name and the names of my friends (well not really).

P.S. This is completely fictional FBI please don't throw me in jail. (You'll understand in chapter 4)

Chapter 1

"…In other news researches in Japan have been working on a new generation of the Pokemon game, more on that after these messages."

"Don't you change the channel." said Jose to his father with an excited look to see what the new product on the market was going to be.

"…And welcome back. Now we go to Japan with Mark. Mark?"

"Thank you Cheryl. As you may well know Pokemon has been around for quite some time now and has kept its look fresh by designing new games and monsters. The latest addition to the Pokedex was a hoard of Pokemon from the Hoenn region. After that Nintendo created the wireless linkup with the FireRed and the LeafGreen versions which gave the game a whole new twist by enabling players to literally just walk up to each other and battle. Now, they have replaced the obsolete Gameboy system with a different one. With me I have top researcher Chang. Hello sir, what can you tell us about this new system?"

"Yes, we have created what we call digital poke balls and they allow the user to interact with the Pokemon."

"So what you're saying is that the monsters are now real?"

"Yes, well we have borrowed the device called Pokedex from the game and made it what it is supposed to be, a guide or library of Pokemon. Now when a trainer sees a common animal they can acquire their data with the Pokedex which converts them into their Pokemon counterparts and then capture them with the Pokeballs."

"Uh… do you think you could give us an example?"

"Yes, of course"

The scientist brought out a Pokeball and tapped the round button that came out of it. In a flash of light a Persian came out and started purring at the reporter who looked stunned. Meanwhile Jose had almost fainted at the sight of it and was now jumping up and down unable to control himself.

"I took my cat and transformed him into a Persian. This process on wild creatures would be a lot like taming one. Of course the bound to be trainers will not encounter all Pokemon since we don't have Baltoys or even Marills, but the majority of them can be found among the animals that inhabit our world. Persian return." Said the scientist opening the pokeball from where a red light sucked in the pokemon.

"And with that folks we leave you hoping that this new invention will be available pretty soon for all to enjoy. Back to you Cheryl."

"Well that's it for tonight, thank you for watching NBC News I am your host Cheryl. Have a good night." Jose's father changed the channel with a face that screamed finally!

"Do you even know what that means? Oh my God that's so awesome, can you imagine Pokemon actually here I mean like using moves and everything?"

"Pipe down; I'm trying to watch the game."

Jose left for his room, a little annoyed at his dad but feeling great nonetheless. He could just imagine it, if he closed his eyes. It seemed so easy that it was almost unreal. Buy Pokeballs and a Pokedex and you're set. He opened the last drawer on his cabinet and took out the dusty pokemon cards he hadn't used in over four years. He started looking at them. It wasn't a dream anymore; it wasn't something only little kids played with. Now, the reality of it meant that even adults cold raise pokemon just like in the game. Pokemon could help us work and everything. "So awesome, Abra I choose you." He said holding up the card with the pokemon on it. He then got into bed and started thinking and regretting he had sold his gameboy, he could have been playing right now with his yellow version. When he thought about it he really hadn't kept up much with the Poke-world lately. Thinking of battles and of how all the pokemon could be arranged in the world he dosed off.

The next day, when he came back from school he watched the news again to see if something came up, but they didn't say anything. Then when he switched to cartoon network the show was on. He started grinning at the fact that it was more like a reality show now. Then a commercial brake came and the first one was …

"The new Pokedex 2005 is out folks for only $1,800 you get this great device plus six Pokeballs. Available at a PokeCenter near you."

"Well considering the only two genuine Pokemon Centers are in like, Japan and New York it isn't really near." Thought Jose to himself. "Man $1,800 I don't think a lot of people are going to get them right off the bat, but I guess its worth it counting you get REAL LIVE POKEMON! Oh yeah." Said Jose aloud standing up. He sat back down and continued watching the show hoping that when more devices were made and people didn't buy them the price would go down.

The next day Jose left for school as usual, he said hi to everybody, all cool until lunch break came. His "friend" the rich boy Alex had a whole crowd gathered around him with everyone from young kids to professors. Jose made his way through the crowd and saw what the reason of it was, a Pokedex. It seemed as if everyone had been keeping up with the news and were now hypnotized by this rarity. Jose got to Alex's side and tried to act cool.

"Hey Alex my man waz up, what you got there?" He asked trying to hide the fact that he very well knew what it was.

"It's just a little toy my grandma sent me from New York." said Alex with a smirk that made Jose feel even worse and think about robbing a bank and buying a bunch of the Pokedexes for everyone.

"So, you got any Pokemon yet?"

"As a matter of fact I was about to demonstrate to the public here."

He turned around towards the big tree that was in the middle of the schoolyard and looked around its trunk until he came back to the group with a spider. He put it inside a paper cup so it wouldn't escape while he flipped open the pokedex and pointed it at the cup. He pressed a button and the pokedex voice said "Spinarak, the spider pokemon." While the Pokedex said this the cup had broken and from it the spider had come out but now looking like a Spinarak. A couple of teachers fainted when they looked at the overgrown spider and a couple of boys tried to catch it as it made its escape up the outer wall of the school. Then Alex took a little pokeball and pressed the button on it and it got regular sized. He threw it at the climbing Spinarak and the pokeball opened in half as it hit it. Then a red beam of light sucked in the Spinarak and the pokeball closed. The picture in the pokedex now had a red label across it that said caught. Alex picked up the pokeball from the ground even though he was shaking all over and almost dropped it again. Nobody moved; they couldn't believe it. It had been just like on the show or in the games. It was real, and it was awesome. Alex pressed the button on the pokeball again and Spinarak came out. It looked just like Jose imagined it, although it had a texture to it different than a cartoon drawing, and it was three-dimensional.

"Spinarak use String Shot." Said Alex and the spider looked at him wondering. Then it shot a web straight at his face. Everybody laughed at this, even Alex. It was just too cool to stay bitter.

Soon the price of the devices started dropping as more were being made. PokeCenters where popping all over the world alongside PokeMarts. The price of pokeballs had dropped to six dollars the dozen and the pokedexes were down to ninety dollars. Japan, being the only producer and owner of this miracle was getting richer by the minute as the whole world turned to buy their products. Even Bush now had a little Skitty with him. Everywhere people where trying to get new pokemon, for example, trying to se which dog breeds were the right ones for Houndour and Growlithe.

By now Jose had bought a Pokedex and had gotten the six free pokeballs that came with it. He hadn't caught anything yet though.

"Hello and welcome to Headline News. Around the world people are protesting for animal rights calling this a Poke-massacre. Melinda has more on this. Melinda?"

"Thank you Roxanne, I am now on the Galapagos Islands where the tortoise population has decreased considerably due to poaching in the area. The poachers or so called trainers say that the animals are happy with them and that they have a right to be Blastoises and Torkoals. Also in the Amazon River people have been capturing Mankeys and Aipoms like crazy, not too mention the damage being done in Africa." To this President of the organization for Animal Rights said: "I have nothing against capturing and rising Pokemon, in fact my daughter owns seven of them. But we have to remember that these are animals that share this planet with us and we can not trap them indiscriminately." "Now many heads of state around the world have passed laws prohibiting the sell of rare pokemons and nations in Africa have created Safari Zones where the animals are raised for capture. Again, we can only hope that the new Pokemania does not wipe out the remaining Phanphies or elephants. Back to you Roxanne…"

Jose stared at the TV with a worried look and a guilty conscience. Even though he hadn't caught a single animal he still felt responsible for supporting what was happening. He went to bed at night sad, thinking he might not get a chance to be a trainer at all if they banned the Pokedexes or if there weren't any animals left.

The next day he left for school, he drove his car down the same road by the lake, when in the distance he saw some deer. He thought of Stantler and then felt bad again for the news he had heard the day before. He kept driving when he saw on the road what looked like a little turtle. It was making its way through to get to the other side. If Jose didn't stop he would kill it for sure, so he stopped. Then he saw his opportunity. This was a common garden turtle, there were a lot of them, and it was young. "I mean it's not like you have a family or anything right." He said to the turtle so he took out his pokedex from his pocket flipped it open and on and pressed "the magic button". The pokedex said "Squirtle, the turtle pokemon." And the turtle changed. It was now the size of a car wheel Jose grabbed a pokeball and threw it so hard in the excitement that he knocked out the poor thing. The pokeball caught it and wiggled three times and the stopped. Jose grabbed it and put it away, he was going to be late for school.

As he drove he called out Squirtle who came out and sat in the passenger seat a little confused.

"Sorry about the hit." Said Jose "I got carried away. Do, do you know what you are?" asked Jose not knowing what to expect, if a turtle reaction or one like in the show.

"Squirtle" said the pokemon nodding.

"And you are ok with me catching you and all?" Asked Jose a little worried.

"Squirtle" said the turtle nodding again.

"Great" said Jose relieved. "You'll see we'll become great partners, you'll like being this way."

When he got to the parking lot he told Squirtle to return since the teachers had already confiscated about twenty pokemon for being outside their balls. The only time this was allowed was at lunch which had become Jose's favorite subject. There was always a battle, or a new pokemon, or a trade to see. When this time came Jose walked proudly into a group of fellow trainers and boasted "I challenge all of you to a pokemon battle."

"Hey look who caught a pokemon, finally." They answered.

"Alright, alright I did catch my first pokemon so how 'bout a quick match?"

One of the trainers stepped forward and said "I must warn you, yesterday I caught a fire salamander and you know what that means."

"Ha, you got nothing; I could knock you out like a candle." Said Jose confidently since he knew his Squirtle could beat Charmander any old day.

"Alright, ready…"

"Charmander / Squirtle I choose you!" Both trainers said in unison as they threw their pokeballs and everyone around chanted "fight, fight, fight." The two monsters came out and stared at each other Charmander looked confident, Squirtle, err not so much. He had just been caught, didn't even know what he was doing. Jose shouted "Squirtle use water gun." But the pokemon looked around at him with a look of "what did you just say?" When Squirtle had turned around Charmander had used the opportunity to pin him to the ground. "I forgot Squirtle doesn't learn water gun until later. This sure is harder that the game boy. Alright Squirtle get up. Use your tail to jump, and then come down with a Tackle." Squirtle tried this but Charmander was just too quick. He kept moving to one side just a little and then to the other, making Squirtle look stupid. "Oh man, alright forget it, use your tail for the Tail Whip attack." Squirtle ran up to Charmander and whipped him with his tail hitting him all over his body as Charmander tried to cover himself. "Good, that'll lower his defense." Jose thought to himself while his opponent said "enough, Charmander growl at it, then scratch it." Charmander's growl filled him with courage and he then scratched Squirtle right in the face. Squirtle looked at the floor, he was bleeding. When he looked up he was angry, he meant business. He went straight for Charmander and tail whipped him again, then while the other cowered under the whipping he jumped and came back down with a super strong Tackle attack. "Ha, ha, alright Squirtle you did it! Jose ran towards his pokemon and hugged it while whipping the blood off its face. "Good match" said the other trainer who had taken Charmander back. "Yeah, it was." said Jose. He returned Squirtle to his pokeball and looked at his pokedex. Under the picture of Squirtle with the red sign across it were a blue bar almost full and a sign that said 20 exp. He knew that was the experience Squirtle needed to get to the next level and that he had gained experience from trying so hard in this match. There was also a green bar and a label that said hit points. He knew this was Squirtle's life and that it had gone down in the match. With that the bell rang and he had to go back to class after having won his first battle.


	2. The Long Trip

Chapter 2

Time had passed and the news had quieted down about the pokemon, then again people seemed to find these creatures more and more common. Now some people had even set up gyms in order to give trainers little tests and such. The school year was almost over for Jose. Soon it would be summer. He was so excited because now he could focus completely on raising his friends. As a summer trip Jose's family was going to go Miami, Florida to see his grandparents and the rest of the gang. They were going by car so Jose thought it would be a great time to spend training since he didn't get to journey around the world. By now he had plenty of pokemon which he kept in their pokeballs at home.

With the help of Wartortle and Raticate they loaded up the car in no time and set out on a foggy morning. The leaves still had dew on them. Here and there Jose could see flocks of Taillows and Pidgeys that people had caught and released. As he looked at the pokemon he lowered the window. He felt the fresh air hit his face just like a Gust attack. He hadn't been able to take out his pokemon because the backseat was so crowded that he barely fit in himself. He took out three pokeballs and let out Pidgeotto, Taillow and Spearow, his three flying pokemon and gazed at them as they sped up and away, happy to feel the rushing air, to be free of their pokeballs. As the car kept going the pokemon came back and flew right alongside it, Jose's mother was still a little scared of them and jumped a little every time they flew too close to her.

With the car low on fuel the travelers decided to stop for a stretch and to fill the tank up. Jose let out everyone as well, his Wartortle, Raticate, and Butterfree. He went for a little walk around the gas station with his team to see what the countryside was like. They were now in the state of Alabama and they could see some cows in the distance. With the cows were some Miltanks and a Tauros. "See, I guess everyone has found a use for pokemon." Said Jose and this was true since pokemon were now used in more occupations than animals. He walked around a little more, lost in thought, looking at his Wartortle run after taillow for having pecked him while the others laughed. "Alright, guys stop that, Marahute I told you that if you don't want to get blasted away you shouldn't peck people. Come on, let's go to the car. Mom and dad are waiting for us." "Jose common, hurry up." said his father. "If we loose time now we will have to drive at night." "You'll have to drive, I'll just sleep" said Jose smiling but hurrying even more towards the back seat of the car. "Everybody return."

They drove for what seemed endless hours, all the way into dusk. An Ember orange could be seen followed by a Flamethrower red and a purplish Confusion. Clouds lazily wandered across the plains in the sky like giant Wailords. The setting was beautiful and peaceful, so much that Jose dozed off and even drooled a little.

"How much did I sleep?" asked Jose as he woke up, looking at the now dark sky. "A couple of hours. We're already in Florida." answered his mother. "Are we going to stop somewhere to sleep?" asked Jose. "No, we have to keep going. Besides, I feel great." answered his father. "Why the rush anyways?" "Oh it's nothing, it's just you know, so we won't be late." said his father a little nervous. "Your father made a bet with your grandpa because he says it only takes two days to travel from Conway to Miami." said mom "One if they let me go seventy all the time." said dad grinning. "We'll stop later at a rest area." Jose didn't like this because it usually meant stopping at three in the morning and nobody to talk to. Effectively, as soon as they stopped, his parents fell sound sleep. "I'll just go take a walk ok." "Zzzzzz"

He got out of the car and walked a little, looking at the rest area and the pine forest that was near it. Walking along the trees he saw a trail and started walking through it. He had walked for some time now and the trees now covered what little light came from the rest area. He heard an owl hoot and looked up. On a branch there was a little owl hooting. Jose liked flying pokemon a lot, so he took out his pokedex and turned it on. "Hoot-hoot, the owl pokemon." Said the voice and the owl transformed into a wide-eyed pokemon. When it had changed and it saw Jose it went towards him using Foresight along the way. Jose saw his chance so he called out Raticate, however hoot-hoot had his target locked and it was the trainer, Jose ran around flailing his arms and screaming "Splinter do something." The hoot-hoot kept pecking Jose who was running around in circles screaming commands. "Splinter Hyper Fang, Quick Attack, Tackle, please anything!"

Raticate looked at the hoot now and focused its energy; it recoiled its legs and got ready to spring. Right as Jose passed in front of him Raticate let loose its energy as a Tackle. Jose ducked and the hoot went after him. It turned to look at the new attacker but it was too late. Raticate hit it and the hoot fell. It opened its short wings and stared at the Raticate with its huge eyes. Raticate was caught in its sight and was curious and suddenly tired. "Raticate don't look!" screamed Jose while he ran to shield his pokemon from the hypnotic stare. The hoot now with a grin on his face went in with a tackle. Raticate was sound sleep now. Jose slapped it trying to wake it up but it was no use. He picked up a branch and started whacking the hoot. "Stay back you little…" hoot-hoot tried to peck Jose but it couldn't get past the stick. Jose knew what he had to do but he didn't want to because Raticate would get really mad.

The hoot flew away as it got ready for another attack. Jose used this chance to go over to Splinter. He got behind him very carefully and grabbed one of its whiskers. He waited for the right time; right when hoot-hoot was in front of Raticate. He pulled the whisker out and Raticate woke up with a yell. It looked at the hoot and used Hyper Fang. The hoot-hoot tried furiously to get away but its momentum made him fall right in Splinter's mouth. "Splinter don't eat him." said Jose a little scared. The Raticate turned around and looked at him with the hoot-hoot still in its mouth. He looked at its trainer's hand and saw the whisker. Jose laughed nervously. "Hey look, I only wanted to wake you up you know." he said as he backed up slowly. The Raticate dropped the hoot which had fainted and got ready for an attack. "Oh boy!" said Jose as he turned around and started to run. Raticate didn't move, it waited, and waited, and then leaped so high that Jose looked up to see it coming down right on top of him. When it hit him he thought it would be mad but the Raticate smiled and licked his face. "Oh Splinter I'm sorry here let me see." there was a red patch on the Raticate's cheek. "Don't worry, when we get to the car I'll take care of it. Come on; let's get that hoot-hoot."

Jose caught the fainted hoot-hoot in a pokeball. It got sent to Jose's computer in his house. He had downloaded a system from the internet to keep Pokemon in a virtual park. He walked back to the car with Splinter at his side. The Raticate felt that it was only fair to let him walk a little after what had happened. When they got back Jose looked at his parents. Their eyes were red and puffy. His dad said "I couldn't sleep a wink." "Why is that?" asked Jose. "We heard a scream and we didn't know what happened." Said his mom with the same zombie-like stare that his dad had. "Uh, maybe I should drive dad." said Jose concerned for his parents. "You don't even have a full license yet." said his mom. "Why don't you try to sleep a little more then?" He didn't have to say that his parents were already sleeping.

While his parents slept the day off Jose took care of Raticate's wound. Then he let out all his pokemon again and played with them since he wasn't tired. They raced, and battled, and even played hide and seek. After his parents woke up he put his pokemon away and got in the car. After that they left the rest area at ninety miles per hour and made it to Miami. Here Jose was sure to find many more pokemon and have many more adventures.


	3. The Beach

Chapter 3

Finally, Jose and his family got to Miami, to his grandparent's home. In this house however there lived a lot more people than just his grandparents. Astonishingly, none of them knew about Pokemon yet and when Jose let out his in the backyard, his grandma fainted, his cousins screamed and his grandpa locked the door. After a lot of explanation and playful demonstrations everyone understood what they were. His youngest cousin Karla suddenly wanted to keep his Taillow which she hugged really hard. Marahute looked at Jose with a face that screamed "Help me" but Jose just laughed and thought "Well you deserve it." His cousin then turned on her mother and asked with a puppy dog face "Can I have one pleeeeease." Jose and his parents settled in. this meant covering the sofa with a bed sheet for Jose to sleep on and taking out the old mattress for his parents.

The next day they were getting ready to leave for a wonderful day at the beach. Jose's grandpa had a jet-ski that they were going to ride. As the whole family got in the van Jose's grandpa tapped Jose's father on the shoulder. "So, you got here yesterday huh?" He asked naively. "Uh, yeah we did." said his son. "Right, then I believe you owe me a little something." He said sticking out his palm. Jose's father took out his wallet and gave him some money reluctantly. After that they all got in the van and rode to the beach.

Jose helped his grandfather with the jet-ski and soon they were riding the waves. After a couple times around, Jose let his grandpa ride it alone while he walked on the beach looking for seashells. He found a pretty one and when he tried to pick it up there was an animal inside it. He looked at the now closing shell and thought for a while. Then he went with the shell to the van where he had left the Pokedex. He got it out and turned it on. It beeped and said "Shellder, the shell pokemon." at that instant the shell grew until it was greater than Jose's hand. He dropped it and took out his taillow. "Alright Marahute you can train but don't do anything stu… why do I bother?" The taillow had flown off to the water and was now fishing happily. Meanwhile back at the shore Shellder had withdrawn into its shell. Jose called the taillow back and it now seemed a little more manageable. "Ok then, now Peck" The taillow went in for a Peck attack but the shell was too hard for it. The end of its beak chipped a little and the taillow flew back towards Jose. "Come on now, its ok you can do it." Marahute got really mad now and it rose in the sky and dove with a Fly attack. The Shellder was no slowpoke; it jumped to the side and the taillow hit the sand. The Shellder closed in on him and used Supersonic. The taillow tried to fly but it was too dizzy. "What's the matter Marahute? Use your Wing Attack." the taillow looked at the trainer confused and went straight at him beating him with its wings. "Ah help, someone, anyone." his cousin Karla who had been looking at the battle looked through his backpack and threw a full heal bottle at him. He grabbed it and sprayed the taillow right in the face. The pokemon stopped in its tracks looking ashamed and it turned around. This time the Wing Attack was aimed at the Shellder. Shellder once more closed its shell but the insistent beating made sand get inside its shell. It started coughing and it had to open up. This was Jose's and Marahute's chance. They didn't even have to talk, nor look at each other. They both thought the same way. Marahute pecked the living daylights out of the Shellder and then picked it up with its claws. It took it high and closer to Jose and then let it drop. When it hit the ground Jose threw a pokeball at and thus caught it.

As the day slipped by, Jose walked along the beach and realized that he had no idea how his family didn't know what pokemon were since they were everywhere. On the beach alone there were dozens of trainers with their pokemon. Some were wrestling in the sand and others just plain old fighting. There were little girls running around with their Horseas and Poliwags. On one of these walks he saw a group of people all gathered around what seemed a store. The shabby structure swayed with the gentle breeze and looked like it was going to fall at any minute. When he went inside he felt a chill. He looked up at a menu that was on top of a counter. It read "Rare Pokemon for Sale!" in big red letters. He got closer to read better. Under that there was a set of names and prices like Arcanine---$2,000, Kingdra---$1,000, Lanturn---$500, Mantine---$500...Jose felt sick and had to look away. How did they get these pokemon? They probably had to capture live endangered animals.

He walked out of the store feeling really bad. He was angry, first at the store owner, then the bastards who came up with the stupid idea of Pokemon in the real world, and finally once he worked his way down the chain he blamed himself. Him and all the other dupes like him who actually supported this freak show, this rape of nature. He stopped, his face hot and the shadow of sadness creeping in. he felt how the little knot tightened in his throat. He wanted to smash his pokedex to forget about everything and think it was just a dream. He wanted to cry, and punish himself for all he had done. He felt on his belt for his poke balls. He grabbed one, the oldest looking one. It had a scratch almost all around it and the hinge on which it opened was a little loose. Jose picked up over his head without thinking and was about to smash it on a rock, but he couldn't. He looked at the J carved in front of the ball as his temper fell. He remembered with melancholy who slept in that ball, his greatest friend. Then as he regained his spirits he remembered all that he had gone through with his truly first pokemon. Lost in thought and still grabbing the ball he started to walk again.

He had walked a couple of steps when he bumped into some shady character. He stumbled a little and grabbed the ball even more fiercely. The man had cheap clothes on and a bag under his arm. He was looking all around as if he was scared. He bumped into Jose and almost dropped the bag. He picked it up really fast and looked at Jose. Then he smiled. His teeth were yellow and rotten. He said "hey kid come here. I got something for you." Jose tried to walk away with a stern face of "I don't talk to strangers" but the man insisted. "Here look!" he opened the bag for Jose to see. "Freshly caught Corphish for you to train or lobster for you to eat." Jose gave him a nasty look; he was mad now. He felt how he was loosing himself to anger and hatred but he didn't cower; he welcomed the feelings and focused them on this man. This destroyer of what he loved. He went right for him without even calling his pokemon. As he was punching the guy Wartortle came out of its ball. He looked at Jose, at the guy, and at the bag and he understood. A shadow crossed its eyes and it got even angrier than Jose. It drew on its water and opened its mouth with satisfaction. The Water Gun blasted the man away for several feet. The crook rolled on the sand until he was knocked out. Jose picked up the bag and glanced at Wartortle surprised at the pokemon's response as well as his own. They exchanged looks and knew what they had to do next.

The door of the set-up store burst open under a barrage of water, sand, and wind. From the Smokescreen generated out stepped the silhouette of a boy of seventeen with glasses and a decisive, penetrating look. Behind him were the meanest, angriest looking monsters anyone had ever seen. Everyone inside stood still. Jose turned around to his team and said "Let's do this!"

The pokemon wove in and out of the mass of people attacking them with every sort of attack possible. Not doing them any real harm of course. Their only purpose was to scare them and get them out of the store. Suddenly the store owners decided to put up a fight in order to protect what was theirs, so they called in their own pokemon. A tall, lanky dude with greasy hair called out a Krabby and a Sandshrew. Jose was surprised to see this one because he had never seen any in the world before. He recovered quickly though since he knew what his strategy would be. "Alright then, Wartortle and Marahute I choose you!"

The two Pokemon sped forward as their foes stood their place. Wartortle tried to headbutt Krabby while Marahute closed in on Sandshrew, but Krabby grabbed the taillow by the tail and almost clipped its feathers. Meanwhile Sandshrew had dug a hole through the floorboards and now came under Wartortle right as he was about to make contact with Krabby. The duo flew upwards and then fell as gravity worked its magic a little harder on Sandshrew. "Wartortle now use Water Gun!" The blast came downwards as the Wartortle propelled itself upwards against the Sandshrew's back. The latter was drilled into the earth where it fainted. Marahute frantically tried to free itself from the Krabby's grip but every peck and scratch was useless. It didn't budge. Wartortle came down on top of it with a down-to-earth headbutt that worked like magic. Jose's eyes watered with excitement as he saw his old buddy doing that same old trick that had won them their first battle. Now Marahute was free and it hovered beside Wartortle confidently. The man jumped behind the counter and started throwing poke balls. A girl now came in from the back who seemed to be the boss of the shop. She threw out a Slakoth, a Mankey, and a Poochyena. Now the store seemed more like a poke-petting zoo and the odds were bitterly thrown against Jose. He called the whole gang to him and breathed deep. "Alright Wartortle, Splinter set up a barricade to slow their movement. The rest, focus on the trainers!" If this was still a trainer battle Jose didn't even want to think about what war would be like!

The flying pokemon went over the enemy battlefield spreading chaos. Butterfree used its various spore attacks as randomly as it could creating new toxins unheard of in the before known pokemon world. Marahute stayed back a little and use Gusts and Whirlwind to keep the various pokemon at bay. Spearow chirped and pecked to encourage its friends and dishearten the enemy. The main attacker was Pidgeotto who flew ever closer to its target combining Wing and Quick attacks very effectively. There were too many of them though, too many scratches, too many bites. In the end it fell from the sky fatigued like a swooping falcon. Jose didn't want to loose any of his friends. That was the most important thing, even more important than getting himself killed. He hopped on Splinter's back which stood on its hind legs to look more imposing. He talked to it in its ear, that old saying he had heard so long. "We can still win you know. The turning of the tide starts with one soldier going back into the fray." Jose had read that in some historical fiction book and it had stuck. He had always loved history and it shared a throne in his priorities alongside Pokemon. Now it was the time to put all that to good use, if it was of any use. He raised his hand in the air and his pokemon understood. They all went to him and he said: "Let's finish this and rescue our brother." All his pokemon agreed and he felt glorious. They moved forward like an oar riding a wave. Splinter used its Scary Face to make the going easier while Wartortle knocked back pokemon with its Water Gun. They didn't want to fight that much so they made their way fast to were the two trainers stood. Jose got off as his Raticate and Wartortle blockaded the menacing pokemon again. He walked over to Pidgeotto and grabbed it in his arms. "Hey buddy, how are doing?" He took a small, half empty bottle from his back pocket and sprayed some Potion on the bird's wounds. "You just rest now ok?" He grabbed a pokeball and returned Pidgeotto to the safety of this small enclosure.

He got back up and stared at his opponents who were now trying to escape. He grabbed the guy by the shirt and threw him at the frantic pokemon. He looked at the lady and asked her a simple question "Do you know how to control them?" The girl nodded and went behind the counter, after a little rummaging she found a Jigglypuff CD. She played it while she put some cotton in her ears. Jose returned all his pokemon to their pokeballs to keep them awake. He started feeling woozy so he grabbed the girl and put her cotton puffs in his ears. She was quickly sound sleep as well as everyone else except for a Loudred that was dancing happily to the monotonous song. Jose went toward the counter and turned on the PC. He looked for the pokemon files decisively. When he got to the option "Release Pokemon?" he hit the release button and watched as every single name was erased from the files. He also released the ones the store owners' He turned to see pokeballs crack open and release pokemon. When it was all done and the Jigglypuff CD had stopped playing the pokemon slowly started to wake up and realize they were free.

When all of them were awake they ran outside with Jose following close behind. He grabbed the bag with the Corphish he had left outside before. Inside the store there were only the two owners now tied with Stringshot and vines. Then the pokemon all turned around and faced Jose. He felt scared because there were too many of them and he didn't know what they wanted. He was good at figuring out what his own pokemon wanted but he was no master. He called them out so they could help him. His Wartortle looked at him and then at the pokemon. Then it said "War…war tortle, tortle tor wartortle." Jose didn't even need to hear that. Wartortle's expressions told him all he needed to know. These pokemon didn't know what to do next. Having been forced to change, how could they return to what they once called home? Jose said that he had seen many mixed flocks of Spearows and sparrows and the same with Farfetch'ds and Psyducks. They believed him and said they would try to maintain their bonds to the animal world. Moreover, they told him that they would from now own protect their own from attacks like these. Jose was happy to hear this. He felt that that was the only thing needed to balance out the two worlds. That was: a mutual relationship between pokemon and animals and less indiscriminate hunting on the people's part.

After all the pokemon had left, Sandshrew came over to Jose and tugged at his shorts. Jose was waving goodbye to the pokemon and didn't notice. Sandshrew then started crying and Jose looked down and picked up the Sandshrew. "Hey, what's the problem little guy?" Sandshrew rubbed his eyes with his paws and said he had no family really. He had been born in a zoo. Jose then said "Well, if you'd like you can come with us." Sandshrew looked around at the Jose's pokemon. Jose let him down so he could decide. Wartortle walked over to him and stretched out its hand. Sandshrew stuck its head in the ground in fear. Wartortle tapped him on the back and said it was OK. Sandshrew then looked up at him and got back up. He then smiled and shook hands with him.

As dusk settled he had already returned to where his family was in the beach. He took the jet-ski on a last ride towards the setting sun. He wasn't afraid he might run out of gas because he had his friends with him. He wasn't afraid of what tomorrow would bring because he had his friends with him. In the end as he turned off the jet-ski miles away from shore. He felt relieved. He once again loved the idea of pokemon being in the real world and mentally took back all the blames he had said. As he stood there looking at the last rays of the summer sun he saw dolphins and lanterns jump outside the water, together. He saw Mantines and Horseas, Kingdras and many other water pokemon. Finally as the last, greenish rays of sunlight disappeared he turned the jet-ski around and started the trip back to the shore satisfied with himself, secretly smiling for his good deeds.


	4. The Bad News

Chapter 4

Jose had liked the summer. He had had lots of fun and had trained a lot. More over, he had now gotten a new laptop which he quickly used to log onto the internet and download all his pokemon facts. He was amazed at how the system worked. He could see the status of all his pokemon back home. He had kept them all in their balls except for a Houndour he bought at a pet store. He let him out in the backyard to keep crooks out. He thought about how pokemon had helped to both stop crime and encourage it. They were like nature, neutral.

He was now in the car on the trip back home using the computer. This part of the trip always seemed longer and more relaxed. It could also have been that his father had lost the bet to Jose's grandpa. On the makeshift bed in backseat lay Pidgeotto breathing heavily. It seemed really tired but relieved. Jose petted him and looked at the coming dark clouds. It was August and a storm was coming. Jose read some news on the CNN website and played a video. His dad looked at him through the mirror smiling. "You can get videos on that thing? Amazing!" His dad wasn't much of a tech buff. Jose put on his headphones so as not to disturb Pidgeotto and his mom who was also sleeping.

"The president has decided to send more troops to Iraq and the questions stands. Will the draft be established again?" The thought came to Jose of having to go to Iraq and fight. He then turned his thoughts o pokemon. As if by magic the news reporter answered his question. "And with the onset of this Pokemon Revolution the president has Okayed a Pokemon program." "A pokemon program?" Jose thought to himself. "What the hell is a pokemon program?" Again the news reporter heard his thoughts through the headphones. "This program will involve investigation of pokemon behavior, battle strategies, and creation of new pokemon." "I can't believe this. They are going to send pokemon to die aimlessly!" He gritted his teeth. He didn't even want to think about it anymore. He turned off the laptop and decided it was best to sleep and forget it.

Jose opened his eyes and he was in a battlefield. Cannons could be heard in the distance and tanks rolled by. Bodies lay everywhere. There where human figures, charred by fire, sitting inside cars or laying on the ground. Jose walked by. A voice screamed "It's a bomb, a bomb!" There were women crying and kneeling. In front of Jose, stood a kid of ten who was crying as well. Jose looked in his eyes and saw himself, dressed in a uniform with a riffle in his arms. He moved away. He looked over to another place. He heard more cries. Some abysmal cries of pain. He moved around the pile of burned cars and saw a whole field. Grass grew but it was red. On the field there were thousands and thousands of dead pokemon. There was still that wailing in front of him, it seemed distant. He moved extremely quickly as if flying. He then came to a pile composed of a Machamp, a Nidorina, and an Ursaring. He tried to move the bodies. But when he stretched out his hand they just fell to the sides, and revealed his Wartortle. It was bloody and scarred. Its carapace had been blown off and it had been blinded on an eye. The pokemon shifted to look at Jose better. "Hey buddy, how are you doing?" Said Jose sobbing and gasping. "Jose, save me, save me Jose!"

Jose woke up in a cold sweat. He rolled over in the bed and put on his glasses. He was breathing hard and fast. The room looked so small and empty. He went outside and into the barn he and his dad had built. He opened the door and went towards the end, past all his sleeping pokemon until he found who he was looking for, Wartortle. He breathed a little easier now. To find his friend there unharmed was a relief. He had been having the same nightmare for some time now, ever since the president had sent the first group of pokemon to Iraq. It had been terrible news. Jose lay down beside the pokemon. He fell sleep.

The next day, he woke up earlier than usual to the sound of whispering pokemon. All of his friends had woken up already and had gathered around him. All the familiar faces were looking at him in a circular shape. He stretched his arms and said "Hey guys, what's up." They looked quizzically and he answered "Oh nothing, I just felt like sleeping here last night. They knew something was up, something big. Spearow chirped at him and he said "Alright, I'll speak. The president says that he needs more troops to send to Iraq and now Iran. He has already sent pokemon to help look for bombs and fight terrorists. Moreover Iran's government declared war on America." Jose let that sink in as he surveyed the various faces of his team. "Now, how that concerns us. He has also asked for all the trainers over eighteen to help the war cause. As you know I will turn eighteen next month, so they will be here in no time. He figures that before setting up a general draft he'll use our skills as trainers." At this point Marahute exclaimed "Tail tail taillow!" "Yes, Taillow I know but the government doesn't care if we don't know how to fight. They said that all the trainers that have two badges must go. Don't worry they will probably teach us the basics." The Taillow's motherly nature showed as she shifted from side to side. Pidgeotto moved over to comfort her. Jose watched closely and smiled. When the pokemon realized every one was watching them they blushed and separated.

"So, since we are probably going to be dragged over by the boys in green to fight anyways, we have a month to train. We have to be at our best. Believe me it is a matter of life or death." Jose joked with them. Fear was so far away from him. He saw himself with all of his friends and pokemon riding into battle.

The last weeks of summer Jose spent training hard. He met with fighting clubs created to shape up the trainers. He did pretty good but some trainers were just better. In the final competition he came out third of about twenty. He ran daily and ate little to try and adapt himself to "camp life". He even took hot showers and stood in the Sun to adapt to the heat. Towards the end of the month he decided to just rest his pokemon and choose the final team. One day he set them all up in a line and examined them. His Marahute had now grown into a beautiful Swellow and his Shellder had evolved as well. He picked out Wartortle and kept walking. Moving past the younger ones and analyzing data on his Pokedex at the same time. He moved past Marahute and got Pidgeot. He kept walking and Marahute looked insulted. It was about to screech something but Jose just glanced over his shoulder and it returned to its place. He decided to take Sandslash as well. He remembered when Sandslash was young and squeamish. Now he stood up to Jose's shoulder and had a calm and decided look on his face. Jose selected his Ponyta that he had spent all his allowance on. He chose Stantler. He had gone hunting and when he found the deer had chosen to capture it and not kill it. And finally He moved up to a green lizard. The pokemon was standing against the wall and had a twig in its mouth. Jose looked down at him and said. "Come on Treecko."

Jose let all the pokemon say bye to each other and played one last game with all that day. He knew that he wouldn't be seeing them for a while, other than in his Pokedex. At night he led all the pokemon that were staying to the barn and took the other six to the house. He bathed them all except for Sandslash who fainted at the sight of water. Ponyta on the other hand let him wash her. The water fizzled and evaporated when it touched her mane. Jose then brushed her and without thinking burned the brush. He polished Sandslash's quills and sharpened them. Shone Wartortle's shell and cropped Pidgeot's bad feathers. Stantler didn't need much since he liked to stay clean and proud. Treecko however was impossible. He ran around the house with the soap and hid from Jose, laughing all the time. Jose finally caught him and took away his twig. Treecko's eyes watered and it said it was sorry. Jose then gave the twig back.

The next day Jose woke up like usual. His mom and dad however weren't as calm. His dad hugged him and his eyes watered and his mom cried. He said "Mom it's OK. I got my team with me. We are unbeatable. Don't you two worry, we'll be fine." Jose polished all the pokeballs and pocketed his pokedex. He had already packed everything he wanted or needed. He sat for the longest time just watching TV. The day was ending quickly and he thought he had gotten lucky or something, but then there was a knock. He got up uneasily and opened the door. His parents were behind him watching. When he opened the door. A tall young soldier in full uniform came in. He greeted everyone and then led Jose to a bus. Jose got on the first step of the bus and turned his head. He saw his mom and dad there standing by the door. Then he saw all of his pokemon jump over the fence or come running through the house. His Eevee jumped into his mother's arms and Tauros picked up his father on its back. Jose was glad to see his parents interact so happily with his pokemon. He waved goodbye and got on the bus. As he walked towards the back trying to find a seat he recognized many of his friends. He finally sat beside his enemy Alex who looked awestruck. "How many pokemon do you have?" Jose answered "Uh…about fifty or so." This of course was a lie. He only had twenty at most. The guy in front of him turned around and asked. "How did you get them to do that?" "I didn't." answered Jose. "I guess they just want to say goodbye to me."

The bus then started to move. Jose turned to look at his house where the mass of pokemon stood outside still. Then, as the bus got ever farther. Marahute came flying. It flew beside the bus and Jose smiled. How it had grown. From a silly little girl to a grown bird. "Marahute go home. We will be fine." The bird could not object, it was a direct order and it was no use to try and stop the bus. It finally soared and let out a screech that sounded like "Good luck."


	5. BootCamp

Chapter 5

Edited revised longer Blue ray version.

As the bus entered the camp Jose stuck his face to the window. There were trainers battling each other and people marching with their pokemon. There was a pokecenter and a pokemart, moreover there was a Gym! Jose was excited about this last one so he asked another boy "Hey is that legit?" "Yeah, they just set it up. It says in Nintendo magazine that 'To help the war effort the U.S. government has invested millions in new Gyms." answered the boy reading off a magazine article. "Third badge here I come" thought Jose to himself.

They all got off the bus and got their packs from the bottom of the bus. "ATTENTION!" someone yelled behind them and they wheeled around. They saw a man standing there in front of them. "Hello there boys. I'm Staff Sergeant and Gym leader Biggs, but to you I'm sir. You will address me as such, yes sir, no sir." Biggs growled at them. They looked at each other but refrained from laughing. Too many war movies had taught them to do differently. "All right then, let's start with a little tour of the camp." All the boys started walking after the Sgt. but he turned around and frowned. "What is that? Listen to me. From the day you step foot in here onward you will only trot or march, run if you have to and never, ever, ever shall you walk. Is that clear?" Biggs squinted his eyes to add effect to the statement.

Jose started trotting with his backpack and everyone followed suit. "HA, that's more like it" said Biggs as he caught a ride on a golf cart. And so started their tour of the camp and their first day of training. "Over here we have the sleeping quarters. That's where you sleep. And here we have the training arena. Over there, that's the pokecenter and beside it the pokemart. Let's take a right here. There's the shooting range. YES, you will be required to learn to shoot, you might never shoot, but you have to know how. Come on soldier KEEP UP!" Biggs yelled as one boy fell behind fatigued. The boy looked up at him and called out his Doduo. He then jumped on it and ran alongside all of us. Biggs acted as if nothing had happened but then all the other soldiers started calling out pokemon to ride on. "Alright that's enough!" He yelled and everyone went back to trotting. "And finally the Gym. As you all know I'm the gym leader here and if you which to pass your training you have to get through me. I should warn you, I'm not easy."

After their tour had ended, they had to do four more laps and repeat where everything was until they learned it. That night Jose couldn't sleep. He was so exhausted that closing his eyes hurt. He heard a noise outside. He stood up and walked outside quietly. He saw the kid with the Doduo putting a saddle on it and wrapping his bags. "What are you doing?" Jose asked in a hushed voice. "Wow, don't scare me like that." The boy answered. "I can't take it man, I'm a lover not a fighter, besides I'm only sixteen, I lied so I could get in the Battle Tent and they drafted me. I'm going back home." "Are you crazy? You don't even know where we are; besides there are guards, and they'll follow you." Jose tried to convince him but the boy said "I live up north; all I gotta do is follow the North Star. Besides, I got my pokemon to help me along the way. See ya." He said as he waved goodbye and left into the night. Jose stared behind him. He wanted to do the same as that boy and leave. "Yeah, well he's got it easy, he's underage but I would have to run away for ever." He thought to himself.

The next day Jose was woken up at five by a trumpet call. "Man that's so old school!" Someone yelled. "Morning ladies, today we're going to resume your training, moreover today is your full check up. Alright come on out." Biggs said through a loud speaker. The soldiers came out and lined up side by side. "And now I'll leave you to Sierra." said Biggs as He walked away. "Hi, I'm corporal Sierra and you will refer to me as corporal. Now we shall inspect your pokemon. Take them out. Hundreds of white flashes shone as the trainers brought out all their pokemon. "Good. Let's see here… your Growlithe needs work, report to the training arena… Psyduck is pitiful, I would encourage you to evolve it report to the pokestore and purchase a water stone." "Hey wait a minute! You can't do that, you're just forcing pokemon to evolve or fight for your own purposes!" Jose spoke out. That was the one thing he couldn't tolerate, people misusing pokemon. The Corporal got really close to him and spoke with a mean tone "In case you didn't know, there is a war going on right now, people are dying, your precious pokemon are dying. So it's in the best interest of all to win this war as soon as possible to stop any more deaths." Jose stood there and bit his lip but said nothing. "What's this you brought a Treecko?" The Corporal asked making fun of Jose. He answered "He is young but I'm training him. Soon he'll be much stronger." "Let's hope so." Sierra stared at him and then walked off to continue her duty.

After the pokemon reviews were over, Jose was sent to the training arena to level up his Treecko. The training arena was just a closed ring where different trainers fought. Right as he got there two trainers were fighting, however this type of fighting was new to him. They combined their pokemon's attacks with their own punches and kicks. The show was spectacular, Blaziken and its trainer kicked with the same rhythm while Kadabra protected itself and its trainer. Kadabra then used Psybeam on Blaziken. The beam of psychic energy hit the fighting pokemon and sent it flying towards its trainer. They both fell outside the ring and were disqualified. Now it was Jose's turn. Jose jumped in the ring and called out Treecko.

The other trainer with the Kadabra said, "Here are the rules, you have to stay in the ring. You have to battle everyone who comes to try to take the ring away from you."

"Great, how do I win?" asked Jose a little annoyed.

"Just don't loose." The trainer said with a smirk.

"Great now I got to battle a Kadabra, good grief." Jose thought to himself.

"Since you're new I'll go easy on you. He he he" The trainer said "So wait, wait, I can hit you and your pokemon?" asked Jose thinking quickly.

"Kid, everything's allowed here, it's a battle for survival." answered the trainer to deaf ears since Jose was already charging at the Kadabra.

"Treecko Pound him." Jose yelled as he and rushed towards Kadabra and Treecko Jumped at the trainer.

The opponent was confused, He didn't know if to hit Jose or Treecko, finally he decided "Kadabra use Confusion on both of them!" Jose felt dizzy and tired and fell on the ground. He looked over at Treecko and saw him walking around in circles. The effect passed and Jose ran over to his Pokemon. "Treecko snap out of it." He slapped his pokemon on the face. Treecko was back to normal. Jose then grabbed him by the tail and started rotating. He went around faster and faster and then let go of him. Treecko went flying towards their opponent and understood what it had to do. It turned around in the air and using the force of the throw pounded the trainer with its tail. The soldier was left unconscious and Kadabra didn't know what to do. "Treecko Quick Attack" Jose said as he jumped in the air. Both he and his pokemon hit Kadabra at the same instant and it went flying back several feet.

The spectators were impressed by this show of teamwork. One of the viewers was a captain that was to lead a Pokemon unit in battle. He stroked his beard and looked at Jose. Then in a flash of light Treecko evolved into Grovyle. Jose fell back exhausted. He lay there on the floor until a soldier stood looking down on him and said. "Are you going to fight or do I throw you off and declare myself winner." Jose stood up with a grin and recalled Grovyle. He sent out his Stantler who was as big as a horse. It had been a huge Stag and Jose had chosen not to kill it. Jose jumped on its back with renewed energy and said to the soldier "Yeah, I'll fight."

The added height of trainer and pokemon was a little frightening but the trainer called out his Makuhita. Jose talked in Stantler's ear and gave it some advice. Stantler snorted in agreement and stood motionless. "Um ok I'll start, Makuhita Arm Thrust." The fighting pokemon went at it and ran towards the Stantler. However, both Jose and the Pokemon Leered at Makuhita and it ran back towards its trainer scared out of its mind. "How can it be? You're normal type, I should beat you." Jose smiled at this fact and said simply, "Never underestimate the power of pokemon. Your Makuhita is too young and weak. Stantler use Psychic." The Stantler concentrated to use the learned move and its eyes began to glow white. Out of its antlers came a powerful wave of psychic energy that knocked out Makuhita and threw the trainer on the floor.

Jose stayed on the training arena all day other because after a couple of battles everyone was too tired to try and fight him. He hadn't known he was so good. He had struggled to win his badges because he got distracted trying to figure out the best move set. Now he just winged it with intuition and it was working pretty well. Finally, at night he went over to the pokemon center to rest his pokemon. There Corporal Sierra was dressed in a nurse's outfit and was treating a burned Oddish. "Wow, what are you doing here?" Asked Jose shocked to see the Corporal being so nice to a pokemon after her display the morning before. "Well I'm the nurse here. You're the guy from this morning aren't you? What's your name?" She asked "Jose. I'm here to cure my pokemon." He answered. He took out his injured pokemon and she patched them up. "So you don't have a little machine to cure the pokemon instantly like in the game?" "No, she answered. There are some things we still don't have the technology for. The best we can do is this or use a healing pokemon like milktank. You should rest and so should they. Stay here if you want, I'm leaving now." She walked towards the back of the center. Jose looked as she walked away. She was a very pretty girl when she wasn't angry. He thought about all of this as he fell sleep.

The next day he walked outside and someone already had claimed the ring. He didn't really care and didn't feel like battling for the whole day again so he walked around the camp. He came to the Gym and saw some trainers outside. He asked why they were there. They answered Biggs had beat them and had them doing guard duty for three days. Jose smiled but thought about loosing to Biggs and walked on. He walked up to a kiosk. "So what's this?" "This is where you choose what branch you want to serve in." answered the man attending the kiosk. "Let's see, scouting, infantry, heavy infantry, light cavalry, heavy cavalry…what's the difference between those?" he asked. "Well think of a Ponyta and a Rhyhorn." "Gotcha. Well, considering what pokemon I have, I'll go with light cavalry." "Very well, sign here and write your pokemon here." Jose did so and was then directed to an open space where a bunch of kids were playing football.

Suddenly, a ball of dust passed right in front of Jose. Through the smoke he could see a Rapidash and some other pokemon. They stopped a few yards away, came back, and looked at Jose. "Boys looks like we got us a new recruit." Said the one who looked like their leader. "Hey, aren't you the one who stayed a whole day in the training arena?" "Aren't you the one that lost first?" Jose answered to the Kadabra trainer that was now riding a Dodrio. "Well, just so you know things aren't as easy here in the cavalry unit." The boy said angrily. "I'll get used to it." Jose retorted. "Do you even have any pokemon you can ride?" said their leader trying to keep his team's honor. Jose didn't answer and took out Stantler. The pokemon stood up to the Dodrio's height. Jose got on it and moved toward the group. They said "How about a little race?" He nodded and they all got in a line. They decided to race from where they were to a line of trees where a forest started.

"On my signal." Said the boy with a grin. "Ready, GO!" He screamed as he rushed forward. "Fool he doesn't even have a saddle." said the leader of the gang to them as they left Jose Behind. Then Stantler leapt over all of them and started rushing forward darting from side to side. "How did he do that?" A boy yelled "Grrr Dodrio Pursuit!" "Rapidash Agility!" The trainers tried to catch up to Stantler but it was just too fast. Instead of running it bounded and with each jump it left the other pokemon far behind. Finally, Jose made it to the tree with enough time to spare so he hid the rope he had used to tie himself to Stantler. "We sure got them good." Stantler nodded in agreement; sweat pouring down its sides. When the other trainers reached the forest Jose smiled at them "Oh, there you are!" The trainer with the Rapidash walked over to Jose and held out his hand. "Welcome." He said "I am Charles." The Leader shoved his Dodrio between them and said "And I am William." He stretched out his hand towards Jose and looked at him firmly. Jose looked at him and said "You know that's two times I've beaten you." William's face turned beet red as he growled trough his teeth "Beginner's luck."

Jose kept training with the cavalry unit switching between Ponyta and Stantler and learning how to form up and use attacks while riding. All through his stay at the camp he thought about when he would face Biggs. He decided to do so on an early morning thinking that Biggs would still be sleepy. That was not so and when Jose entered the gym all the lights turned on and shone on him. "Well, well, you are one of the few that haven't faced me yet. I was beginning to think you would chicken out." He hard Biggs voice but didn't see him. "I'm here now. What are your rules?" Jose shot back at him. He came out from the shadows and said "Simple, two pokemon, double battle." Biggs threw his pokeballs and out came Camerupt and Magcargo. Jose thought about it and smiled. He brought out his Wartortle and his Sandslash.

Jose started the fight with a Watergun from Wartortle. "Magcargo use flamethrower." Yelled Biggs. Jose hid from the flames behind Sandslash and Wartortle Withdrew in its shell. "Hiding the lot of you huh? Fine, Camerupt use Earthquake." The walls trembled and Jose thought the whole place was about to collapse. Finally, Biggs gave up on the attack. Jose took this chance. "Sandslash Slash Magcargo, Wartortle Water Gun!" As for him, Jose took off running towards Biggs. At the last minute He propelled himself off of Sandslash's back with his fist outstretched and punched Biggs in the face. Wartortle knocked out Camerupt in one hit with its watergun. The slash attack was not too effective. Jose turned on the Magcargo and told Wartortle to use bubble as Biggs held his bleeding nose. The attack hit the Magcargo, which ran away…very slowly. Jose and his pokemon stared in amazement at the struggling Maccargo and laughed. "What did you me punch for soldier?" Biggs asked wiping his nose. "Oh-oh, that's the way I learned to fight in the training area." Jose said, "Go run five laps!" Biggs yelled "Yes sir." Jose said recalling his pokemon as he started to run. "And here, here's the badge for this gym. Wear it proudly. NOW GET TO IT!" Biggs said as he threw the badge to Jose. He caught in in the air and looked at it. He smiled and ran off.

As their time in the camp came to an end, they held a parade to show off everyone's skills. Everyone wore their best uniforms and their pokemon were in top shape. "And now the light cavalry." Sounded a megaphone while Jose and the rest of the cavalry marched out. He felt proud of his Stantler. He looked at his unit. There were many Rapidashes and Ponytas. There were Doduos and Dodrios.

The days passed and all the trainers readied themselves for the storm to come. They had gotten through training but they were going into war.


End file.
